Painter still brushing up on his skills, but Colts now look at him more favorably | TIM ETHRIDGE COLUMN

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Curtis Painter (7) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

INDIANAPOLIS — It was the worst of starts for Curtis Painter, and certainly not the best of finishes.

But in between, in the third-year pro's first snaps of the season, he showed enough in Sunday night's 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers to spark confidence in his Indianapolis Colts teammates.

"I'm a fan of Curtis," said running back Joseph Addai. "A lot of media, fans really don't understand what the quarterback position goes through. Seeing Curtis come in there and make some plays, that was good for him. And as teammates, we're happy for him."

Painter played four possessions — plus a single final desperation pass — after starter Kerry Collins left with concussion symptoms with the score tied at 13. The former Vincennes Lincoln High School and Purdue University graduate performed about as well as could be expected.

On the first possession, he missed Pierre Garcon open deep for what would have been a 74-yard touchdown. "That very first pass to Pierre, I'm going to kick myself tomorrow," he said.

On the second, a dropped pass by Dallas Clark helped lead to a punt.

The third got off to a promising start, with a 7-yard run by Addai. But the Colts then called for play-action, Painter was hit from behind by James Harrison, and the ball bounced free to Troy Polamalu, who ran it in for a go-ahead touchdown.

"Obviously," Painter said, "I need to hold onto the ball on the fumble. We'll try to fix those things and keep going."

The Colts came right back and put together their most impressive scoring drive of the season, an 80-yarder that included five completions by Painter and was capped by a 6-yard run by Addai. That tied it up, but the Steelers had just enough time — 2:09 — to drive for a game-winning field goal.

Afterward, though, no fingers in the locker room were pointed at Painter.

"The first couple of series that he was in there, he just kind of got his feet underneath him," said coach Jim Caldwell. "Obviously, that last drive was a good, solid drive. He did a nice job of taking it down the field and getting the score."

The question, then, is who will take the snaps when the Colts visit Tampa Bay next Monday? It could be Collins, if he's healthy enough; it could be Painter, if Caldwell and team president Bill Polian were suitably impressed.

"I have no idea," said Painter. "Hopefully, Kerry will be ready and will be healthy."

It certainly won't be Manning, although he may yet return this season. Colts owner Jim Irsay first said on Monday that Manning most likely won't play at all this season, then backed off that statement on a Twitter post later in the day. After three neck surgeries, and with the team 0-3, it makes the most sense to work on bringing back the franchise quarterback at 100 percent in 2012.

So, almost certainly, Indy's run of nine consecutive 10-win seasons and trips to the playoffs could be coming to an end. In the previous nine seasons in Indy that the Colts started 0-3, only once did they finish with a winning record (9-7 in 1988) and six times they won three games or fewer.

That's not their plan now, even though it would be prudent to at least find another quarterback after releasing Dan Orlovsky and Mike Hartline in the preseason — if for no other reason than punter Pat McAtee currently is listed as the emergency QB.

"The big thing is that, No. 1, we are still measured by wins around here," said Caldwell. "We still see some things that we can do better, but the real key is getting over that threshold. We've just got to keep fighting and working. We just have to do a couple of more things right, and that way we can get a win."

Painter hopes to do his part.

"I think I settled down a little bit after that first drive," he said after finishing 5-for-11 for 60 yards (Collins was 13 of 29 for 93). "I missed a couple of throws that I probably should have made. I think after that I felt pretty confident and things went OK."

OK, of course, isn't the standard established by Manning in Indy — or one embraced by Painter.

"I think we are all going to stick together no matter what," he said. "That is the thing about this team. It definitely isn't over yet. We are going to keep going, get back to work, and no matter who is out there try to get our first win this week."